


Let It Snow

by VorpalGirl



Series: Demonology-verse [6]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Succubi & Incubi, Demonology-verse, Explicit Sexual Content, Gift Fic, Incubus Cloud, M/M, Sex In A Cave, Succubi & Incubi, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 20:40:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5512517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VorpalGirl/pseuds/VorpalGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud Strife is part incubus, which would not be a problem if he could just get laid...too bad he's on a mission in the middle of frigid nowhere, and most of his coworkers are unappealing jerks.</p><p>The solution? </p><p>Zack Fair to the rescue!</p><p>(Christmas giftfic for AsreonInfusion; set in the Demonology-verse, though it can be read separately. Placement in Demonology-verse continuity is...flexible. Like Zack.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let It Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AsreonInfusion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsreonInfusion/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Demonology](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541128) by [AsreonInfusion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsreonInfusion/pseuds/AsreonInfusion). 
  * Inspired by [Hybridization](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2828993) by [TekkaWekka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TekkaWekka/pseuds/TekkaWekka), [VorpalGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VorpalGirl/pseuds/VorpalGirl). 



> "Naughty or nice", huh? Who says we can't have both? ;) Not me! This as originally started on a whim *last* Christmas Day, and posted via Submit to AsreonInfusion's tumblr. Thankfully Asreon enjoyed the portion I did finish back then! It's taken me all year to actually finish the thing completely, but lo and behold, I...actually finished it in time for (this) Christmas! Huzzah! Hope you enjoy the more complete version! :)
> 
> This is based in the world of AsreonInfusion's fic "Demonology" (hence Cloud being part incubus), and though it is set sometime after the first chapter of TekkaWekka's lovely "Hybridization" sequel to that fic, it...doesn't really have a set particular spot in the timeline of the Demonology-verse at this point, beyond that. 
> 
> Time will tell if it settles in anywhere in particular, I suppose (must confer with Asreon and Tekka on that someday, heh), but for now, it's nebulous placement and at any rate, CAN be read separately with no problem. There are references to "Hybridization" chapter 1 in particular, but I deliberately tried to make it approachable to an uninitiated reader who might just want a fun, sexy little one shot at the moment. :) 
> 
> (Though, if you like Sefikura as well, the same could be said of the original "Demonology", which is also a fun, sexy little one-shot. So, cough cough, call this a rec?)
> 
> (PS: If you like this enough to want more, it's very possible - by which I mean, planned - that there will be an additional chapter or two expansion on this, detailing what happens when they get back to the inn. This would include some more sexy. Knowing me, it'll take forever to add on to, which is why I made sure this could work as a one-shot first and am posting it as such, BUT if you like it enough to be curious about any future continuation, feel free to Subscribe so you're less likely to miss the update if and when it happens. Better yet: Subscribe to the Series! ~_^ )
> 
> (PPS: The Zack/Aerith is, much like the Seph/Cloud, a Background Established Ship kind of thing. So uh, if you were hoping for some Zerith in here, you'll probably want to look elsewhere, sorry. This is slashy as hell.)

 

The first several days in the area surrounding the Icicle Inn weren’t so bad; it was too cold for Zack’s taste by far, and there were near-daily monster issues, but then again, the first was to be expected and the latter was the whole reason they were there.    
  
The next couple of days were a little more worrisome.  
  
It had nothing to do with the cold or the monsters, and everything to do with Cloud. 

He’d been one of a handful of troopers assigned to the mission alongside him, which Zack had been initially quite pleased at. Until he realized at the beginning of one evening patrol that Cloud was looking a bit pale.  Until he noticed, on Friday, that his hands had been shaking, that his eyes had looked a little too distant a little too often, that he looked far tireder than he should. The sterner-than-usual set of his jaw and worse-than-usual morning crabbiness might not seem like much to anyone who didn’t know him, but Zack was perceptive enough to know when something was wrong with his buddies. And he was no doctor, but he’d certainly seen what the signs of low blood sugar looked like often enough, when supply chains got held up or shit just got a little too real to get back to camp in time for a meal.  
  
Except that it wasn’t low blood sugar.

He knew it wasn’t, because Cloud was eating like a horse, and it _still_ wasn’t helping. He was doing a pretty good job of hiding it from the other troopers, but by this point it was becoming obvious. Which made Zack worry even more, because — if he had been able to hide it from everyone else so far, how long had he been out of it before _Zack_ noticed?

He had managed to get Cloud assigned to his patrol shifts, which were early evening. And for the most part it had worked out pretty well – Cloud was damn good, and having a _friend_ to watch your back, on a shift that was bound to result in either boredom or violence, was generally a good thing as far as Zack was concerned. But after seeing Cloud’s fingers shaking as he held his rifle, his concern peaked too high to stay quiet.  
  
“You okay, Spiky?” he said, eyeing Cloud’s hands.  
  
“Eh? Oh, sure…” Cloud said, but his distracted tone was enough to confirm Zack’s suspicions. He yelped, as Zack flicked him gently in the shoulder. “What the hell was _that_ for!?” he snapped.  
  
“For lying to a C.O.,” Zack said dryly.  
  
“I’m fine!” Cloud said edgily. “Stop being a worrywart.”

“You are _not_ fine, and don’t think I can’t tell,” Zack shot back. “Your hands are shaking – _not_ shivering, _shaking_ – and I don’t know where the hell your head is, but it’s sure as hell not _here_.”

Cloud gripped his rifle a little tighter at that, and looked downright disgruntled at the accusation, but Zack couldn’t help but notice that the feisty little blond didn’t actually argue. 

He raised an eyebrow and waited patiently.

Cloud grunted, his eyes shifting away and, with an impressive scowl, muttered: “Damn it...that obvious, huh?”  
  
“Yes, it is,” he replied. “So, mind telling me what the hell is wrong?”

Cloud’s scowl twisted in a way that would have been funny if Zack hadn’t been so worried about him. “I guess…” he said grudgingly.  
  
“So?”  
  
Cloud let out an exasperated breath, as he began stomping back into the path their route was supposed to follow.  “So, I haven’t Fed in a while, is all,” he said.

Zack blinked, taking a second to register that Cloud was not, in fact, talking about the dinner they’d finished about half an hour ago, but, a, er, very different kind of nutrition.

When it finally did hit him, his eyes widened. “Oh…” he said. Then he realized Cloud was starting to get way ahead of him, and jogged to catch up. “Damn, Spiky,” he said, as he got next to him again. “I...wait,” he frowned. “ _Why_? Don’t tell me you and Sephiroth’re still trying the whole monogamy thing? I thought we realized how, oh I dunno, _dangerous_ —”  
  
“No!” Cloud said. “Well...not really. Technically.”  
  
Zack jogged an extra couple of steps to ensure that Cloud would definitely catch him giving him the Eyebrow. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It means we’re not, but…” Cloud sighed, and stopped to look at him, suddenly looking just...very, very tired. “He and I both don't want me sleeping with the kind of assholes in the Army that’ve been talking so much smack about me,” he said. “And, well...all the guys they sent with us…” he gave a small shrug, giving Zack a rueful look.  
  
Comprehension dawned on him. “Oh…” Zack said. Then he winced. “ _Oh_ …damn. _Cloud_...”

Cloud shook his head. “It’s fine, Zack…”

“What? Of course it’s not!” Zack said, frowning again. “Isn’t that basically the same as _starving_ for you? I mean, damn, no wonder you’ve been walking around like a zombie…”

“Well, yeah, I mean, a little…” Cloud mumbled, so low that Zack almost couldn’t hear him over the wind. “But I can make up most of the difference in regular food, you know?”  
  
“Obviously not enough of it,” Zack pointed out.

Cloud grunted again. “Well, no…” he admitted.

“So basically, you need to get laid asap?” Zack asked.

Cloud sputtered a little, obviously surprised by his bluntness. “...um. Well, yeah. That’s...yes. Yes I do.”

Zack was about to say something, when a monster decided to have the most annoying timing in the world.

  
***

Between the two of them, it wasn’t so hard, though Cloud was _pissed_ at himself for letting the thing get the jump on them in the first place. Or rather, on _him_ , since it obviously decided to go for the weaker and more distracted of the two, the bastard. Though it was embarrassing to need Zack to rescue him, he was also grateful he hadn’t been alone, and that Zack in particular had been the one to help him, since he was able to yank the fucker off him before it did any serious damage. Between the two of them, they killed the damn thing pretty quickly, once they got their heads into the fight.   

Cloud managed to be proud of their joint achievement for all of a moment, before he started to wobble on his feet; Cloud heard Zack make a soft sound of concern as he caught him.

The weather was starting to kick up a little, but Zack managed get them both to shelter, in a local cave that wasn’t too far away, thankfully. Much as it galled him to be so easily exhausted, Cloud wasn’t really able to deny that this time around, he needed at least a few minutes to rest. Zack, fortunately, was carrying some Potions and a Cure materia, but neither quite fixed _everything_.  
  
Cure helped fix the physical damage, as did the Potion, but neither one in Shinra issued form was intended for anything but humans. They fixed all the problems his _human_ side was having all right, but neither addressed his _incubus_ side.

Which, thanks to that little adrenaline rush, was even hungrier than before.

And Zack…

Gods, he thought, he was so _beautiful_. And smelled so _good_...it was like dangling a goddamn sirloin steak in front of him! With like, truffle sauce or something…

He realized, of course, where his thoughts were going, and chastised himself.

Because _Aerith_. Because Zack was trying to be monogamous, damn it. And because he had already taken advantage of him once before, which was already more than he ever should have. He was not about to do it to him a second time.

So he tried to suppress it.

The key word being “tried.”

He certainly did _try_ . He tried so, so hard, to not think of...doing _that_ , but it was the proverbial pink elephant; the more he tried to ignore it, the more it suddenly edged into every thought, clouding his vision with sultry, rose-colored snippets like: _Zack is so..._ **_warm_ ** , which progressed to _Zack is_ **_beautiful_ ** _,_ and, on the less-coherent end of the spectrum, wound up at: _Zack_ … **_luscious_ **...

And suddenly, inevitably, he found himself trembling.

All he could do was just...tremble, inside and out. Tremble, as his gaze was pulled in by those plump, perfect little lips as they murmured such sweet, caring things to him…

He swallowed. Oh, oh gods, this was not good...not good, not good! He wasn’t sure how much longer he could rein it in. And Zack was being so _kind_! Even though he had taken advantage of him before, even though he didn’t really need to be, he was. As he always was, Cloud thought, recalling how even under the natural spell of an incubus on full-blast, he had been kind...

There are circumstances where you learn the true measure of a man, their “real self”. One of these, Cloud had found, was when the person was under the potent pull of an incubus’ erotic spell. When their mind, consumed by primal desires, revealed its true colors, the person they _chose_ to be to the rest of the world was tucked away, and the person they _were_ came to the surface.

Some people under that influence, he’d found, became completely selfish, single-mindedly pursuing only their own pleasure. Some of those became more “assertive”, or aggressive, even violent in at least one case.

Zack had _not_ been one of those people.

Zack had been _affectionate_.

No, more than that: he had been _gentle_. Loving, Cloud would be tempted to call it, because it hadn’t even been a case of “god, seeing you get off makes me so horny,” which was equally common.

No. No, he had been... _giving_.

He had lost himself to the pleasure a little as well, of course – it was impossible not to, eventually –  but before that, once he had adjusted…

 _Seduced,_ Cloud reminded himself. Once he had been Seduced.

Cloud’s heart pounded, as his brain decided quite against his wishes to fixate on That Moment. The moment where Zack had let go of all his inhibitions...

Where a simple attempt at one of his patented blow jobs had turned into soft murmurs about how it felt so _good_ , about how he couldn’t just not do something _back_ when it Felt So Damn Good, followed by tender moans of Cloud’s name. Questions of what he’d like him to do to him, that had no pretense of dirty talk and every evidence of earnest consideration. Begging, _pleading_ with him to let him touch, let him return the favor, apologies that he couldn’t contain himself when he began to reach his peak...

Zack was an incredible lay, and it had nothing to do with how fit he was, or how hung, or ‘experience’. You could have the hottest bod in the world, all the ‘experience’ in the world, and still not make a person feel like Zack Fair could with a single kiss. Sephiroth was the only real competition Cloud had ever run across.

Speaking of which, those lips were goddamn _distracting_. They were very lovely, and on top of that, Cloud knew from experience that they were soft, and supple, and felt amazing when trailed down —

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn’t catch it in time when Zack leaned in to brush lips against his own.

He gasped, heart ratcheting into double time, as he flung hands up to push him away.

“I – sorry,” he blurted. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t suppressing it — ”

Zack’s look of surprise melted into understanding. Very affectionate understanding, Cloud thought, unless his brain was just really desperate. Which could very well be the case at this point.

“No,” Zack said. “You are. But…”

He brushed a hand across Cloud’s cheek, stroked his hair, and Cloud’s breath caught at the touch, his body tensing — partly out of anticipation, and partly out of fear that if he so much as _breathed_ again, he’d lose it completely.

Zack smiled softly at him, and kissed his forehead. He rested his head on Cloud’s, and murmured against his skin: “It’s obvious you need it.”

Cloud felt dizzy, and hot, and wondered dimly how it was that his internal organs had any blood left at all, given how much had gone to his skin and a certain specific muscle.

“I...um…” his head swam as he tried to string together a coherent sentence. Or have a coherent thought, for that matter. He swallowed thickly, and blurted the one word he thought was sure to break it up before it went too far:

“ _Aerith_.”

He felt Zack tense for a moment — but no more than that. “I know,” Zack said softly. “Don’t worry about that.”

“I – but — ”  he felt himself do the mental equivalent of flailing. “Monogamy!”

Zack, to his surprise, chuckled a little. “You’re sweet, but _way_ too masochistic, Spiky.” He lifted his head off of Cloud’s only to duck it down and force him to meet his eye. His expression was oddly serious, but not the least bit harsh.  “Aerith isn’t here,” Zack said. “And under the circumstances, she’d understand. She wouldn’t want to you to suffer like this any more than I do.”

Cloud’s eyes widened, comprehension dawning. “You...you’re…v- _volunteering_ for it?”

Zack actually snickered a little at that. “Sheesh, Spiky. You make it sound like it’s going to be some great big ordeal or something.” He shot him a grin, the likes of which made Cloud’s knees so weak he was suddenly very glad he was already sitting. “I don’t remember it being particularly unpleasant the _last_ time…” he purred.

And then he kissed him, pressed his lips softly, firmly against his, and it was like a Bolt ran through him; the next thing he knew, he was kissing back, hands tangled in Zack’s hair, back and hips arching towards him, and he knew he couldn’t hold back and a moment later, he wasn’t sure he cared. Zack’s hands were roving so carefully and so _perfectly_ along his side and in his hair and all he wanted was More, _More_ , and he heard moaning, and realized it was his own.

He felt it begin to materialize behind him, the energy shifting outward, and broke the kiss enough to gasp: “ _Wings_!”

Zack made a small, confused sound when he did, but Cloud didn’t have time to worry about his confusion; his back was literally against a stone wall, and while it wouldn’t exactly _kill_ him for them to pop out like that, it _would_ hurt like a bitch and probably break something. Which he probably wouldn’t even notice until afterward, granted, but still. He had never found out what would happen if he broke a bone in them and he didn’t plan to anytime soon, thanks.

So he pushed forward, firmly but gently, so that Zack ended up on his back, and let himself follow, straddling him as the wings unfurled from their dormant state. He’d been right, he thought, to not push it; they were brushing against the walls as it was.

“Ohhh,” Zack said. “Right. Wings.”

Cloud found himself grinning despite himself. “Did you really forget about that?”

“I was a weeee bit distracted the last time I saw them,” Zack replied, grinning back. He had a twinkle in his eye that went well beyond the mako glow, and he teased: “So basically, this is your version of a boner?”

“Ha!” Cloud said, taking the briefest, most gloriously excruciating of moments to enjoy the view while he still had the presence of mind to do so. “No, I get the regular kind, too. It just happens at the same time.”

“So you get a boner _and_ a wing-boner?” Zack said. “That’s gotta make for some awkward make-out sessions.”

“Mm. Usually people don’t notice,” Cloud breathed, running a hand up Zack’s abdomen and feeling the ripple of muscles beneath his sweater. It took all his willpower not to just rip it right off of him.

“Heh. Yeah, I could see that,” Zack said, sliding a hand behind his neck and smirking at him in such a devilish way you’d think he were part incubus too. “You’re pretty distracting.”

Cloud felt his mind grow almost hazy with lust at that look. “So’re _you_ …” he purred, one hand going to Zack’s hair again and the other slipping down to the front of his pants.

Zack sucked in a breath at the contact, and Cloud smirked, and started nuzzling at his neck; he let out a moan as he breathed in the SOLDIER’s heady scent, a bit mako-tinged like all SOLDIERs’ but otherwise wonderful, earthy and enticing. It made his head swim a little. He nibbled at that neck, unable to quite contain his eagerness, and even less so after Zack gave little gasps, little soft grunts at the contact that were surprised, but not unpleasantly so.

Cloud began to massage where his hands were, causing Zack to whimper, clenching his fingers into Cloud’s hair and his hip, and Cloud shuddered at the feel and smell and _taste_ of his arousal.  

He must have lost himself a little because Zack suddenly yelped: “Whoa!” and yanked his hand away. At first, he was terrified he’d gone too far, perhaps even hurt him somehow, until Zack breathlessly informed him: “Don’t _tear_ it! I have to walk back in these clothes, you know?”

It was then that Cloud dazedly realized he’d been about a split second from literally ripping the crotch off of Zack’s pants. He looked up, embarrassed and wanting to apologize, but in the face of...such a beautiful face, somehow forgot how to form words. What was he trying do again? It had seemed important...

Luckily, Zack wasn’t too mad about it, as he just laughed, and kissed him, and then guided his hand to his fly, which he undid by rote reflex.

The next few seconds – minutes? It was hard to tell – were a blur of discarded clothing and smoldering kisses, before Cloud felt Zack’s bare hard-on rub against his own; the contact so electric that he threw his head back, damn near coming from that alone, it felt like.

He felt Zack shudder underneath him. “Cloud…” he breathed, his voice pleading as his hands gripped, as his back arched, as his neck tilted back invitingly. The _please don’t stop_ was unspoken, but obvious. So he didn’t.

He lavished kisses on Zack’s throat, grinning against his skin at the soft, appreciative sounds it produced. Knowing that he wasn’t going to last long if he thought only of himself, Cloud reached down and took Zack in hand, stroking him slowly at first, but quickly graduating to long, strong strokes that drew all _sorts_ of lovely sounds from him.

Zack’s breathing grew quick and shallow, his body beautifully flushed, tense, fit to burst with ecstasy as he desperately gripped Cloud’s hair with one hand. His other squeezed first at his hip, then his ribcage, then back down to his ass, as if he weren’t quite sure what to do with it. Eventually, it dropped to the ground, scrabbling at rock and fisting into the clothing underneath them. The first hand, still gripping Cloud’s hair, was clenched in place, as if he were afraid to move it.  His back was arched almost painfully towards him, his hips writhing at every stroke.

Cloud grinned, even as his own breathing grew ragged at the sight of all this. Zack gasped his name, desperately, almost apologetically, and Cloud knew from the tone that he was about to hit what felt like his peak.

Cloud grinned even wider.

Oh, Zack had no idea.

Since Zack was so close, Cloud finally gave in, capturing his own erection in the same hand that still held Zack’s, pressing their flushed members together and frotting in earnest.

Zack attempted to cry out his name, and only got so far as the vowels before it turned into a gloriously incoherent wail of exaltation. Yet Cloud didn’t let it stop there, didn’t let it stop at ordinary ecstasy; no, mere _ecstasy_ was not enough for one as Beautiful as Zack Fair.

He slid a hand to Zack’s chest. He reached with his mind — tenderly, softly, like stoking a fire. He heard Zack’s cries rise, both in pitch and in volume; stirred further, and heard them rise even more. He stirred _further,_ and finally, his own cock aching and leaking from the sheer _desire_ those sounds invoked, Cloud gave in to his own climax.

Zack’s orgasm hit and he became incapable of making any noise at all. He actually wept a little, and Cloud, who could _feel_ the roiling energy of his rapturous apogee, who came alongside him, could understand why.

 _Damn_ that was good.

It was a long, long moment before the aftershocks stopped for the both of them. Cloud found himself still splayed on top of Zack, feeling very warm and a _lot_ less shaky, despite the recent physical exertion. Zack, on the other hand, looked like he was about ready to fall asleep — eyes closed, ragged gasps gradually slowing, every muscle relaxing.

Cloud gave a little smile at that; though many found the roll-over-and-fall-asleep thing insulting, he never had. Partly because there was something exceptionally satisfying in causing a person to burn so many calories and release so many endorphins that their body just decided to veto consciousness and take a break. And partly because he knew _exactly_ how much energy they expended and released, on account of he directly absorbed it. And given his instinctive skill at stimulating and collecting said release, he couldn’t blame them for being tuckered out.

But it also helped that Zack looked fucking adorable when he was falling asleep.

Well, at least until the snoring started.

“Shiva’s Tits, Zack!” he said, giving him a couple of good thwacks before the abominable noise came to what he could swear was _literally_ a grinding halt.

“Zznkk--nnuh?” Zack snorted. “Wha?”

“Eloquent,” Cloud replied dryly.

“Mn? Oh,” Zack mumbled. “Well, that’s what you get for wakin’ me up like that.”

“First off,” Cloud said, briefly unable to suppress a smile. “Pretty sure you could slay a Summon with that snore.”

As Zack rolled his eyes, and grunted. “Yeah, well, I was on my back, so —”

Cloud snickered. “Yes, you were,” he teased, not missing the smile Zack still wore. “And,” he sighed. “It’s a lovely sight. But, you probably _shouldn’t_ fall asleep in the wilderness during a blizzard.”

There was a sobering pause on Zack’s part. “...ah.”  
  
“Yeah.”

It was Zack’s turn to snicker. “Good point,” he admitted. “Damn! That woulda been a good nap, too…”

“I’m sure,” Cloud said, and if his smile was a little smug, at least it had good reason.

“You feelin’ any better?” Zack said, suddenly seeming a lot more alert and very much focused on Cloud’s face.

Cloud felt a tiny flush to his cheeks that had nothing to do with exertion. “...yeah,” he managed to say calmly. “I am. A lot better, actually.” He swallowed, and with the cleaner of his hands, brushed a stray, sweaty lock from Zack’s face. “Thank you,” he said softly.

Zack smiled again. “No prob,” he said. “What’re friends for?”

Cloud well and truly blushed at that, and wasn’t sure how to respond, so he grasped for another subject and wound up with the most familiar.

“We should...clean up a little,” he said. “Before shit dries on and stuff.”

“Heh, yeah,” Zack said, looking a bit sheepish as he glanced at Cloud’s and his chests. “Also a good point.”

Cloud snorted at the expression—he found embarrassment over stray sexual fluids to be rather cute, honestly, being too used to them to be bothered—and reached for the small pack that he’d been carrying.

He pulled out a first aid kit. When Zack raised an eyebrow, he explained: “It’s not as nice as a baby wipe or a hot towel or whatever, but stuff like gauze works to wipe up in a pinch and if the stuff is stubborn, you can always use one of the alcohol wipes to loosen it up.”

  
“Ohhhh!” Zack said, lighting up. He laughed a little. “Damn, Cloud! You’re resourceful.”

“I’m...used to needing to clean up in different circumstances,” Cloud said, mouth twitching as if he wanted to smirk. He handed Zack one of the tiny wipe packets, and a section of clean, dry gauze. “Here.”

Zack thanked him for it, and Cloud started work on his own clean up, which he did so efficiently that he was done before Zack was. He actually cursed that efficiency a little, when he realized he had less of a distraction from watching Zack clean their fresh cum off of his _perfect fucking chest_.

Clothing, he reminded himself, and his dick. Need to gather clothing. To dress in. And...cover up with. Because Icicle area. And frostbite. Frostbite would definitely be a bad thing.

He dressed rapidly—another thing he had a lot of practice with—before tossing Zack’s pants and boxers to him. “Dancing cactuars, Zack?” he teased. “Really?”

“They were a gift!” he replied, feigning defensiveness. “Besides, I didn’t expect to be showing my fabulous ass off to you today. If I had, clearly, I’d have worn the chocobo print.”

“If that is a reference to my hair, I will hit you,” Cloud said, though without much heat; he felt too good for that. He tossed Zack’s sweater to him, commenting: “I can’t believe they make you wear the short sleeves even up here. That’s just cruel.”

"What, you think a big, bad SOLDIER needs a cardigan? Haven't you been snuggling up to Sephiroth and feeling how warm he is?" 

Cloud gave a thoughtful hum. “That’s true...is it the mako treatments or something?”

“Yup!” Zack said. “We actually run hotter’n most. Which is the whole reason behind the short sleeves—displaying the gun show,” and here he flexed with almost comical intensity, which would have been more plausible if he hadn’t been stifling a grin. “Is just a tasty side benefit.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “So why do Genesis and Sephiroth wear _long_ -sleeved leather coats?”

“Well, if you will recall, General Titty Window—" Oh gods, Cloud couldn’t help but laugh at that one, and damn him, Zack grinned even harder at that. “Doesn’t wear a shirt under his.”

“For which I am very glad,” Cloud said. “But Genesis _does_ ,” he pointed out. “A turtleneck sweater, even.”  
  
“True. Maybe that’s why he’s so hot-tempered,” Zack said, nodding with faux solemnity. “Constant overheating. I bet he doesn’t even need a materia to cast a Fira -- just channels his inner heat stroke.“

For some reason Cloud found that — and admittedly, the incredibly inappropriate epithet for Sephiroth — incredibly hilarious, and they ended up in a joint fit of giggles for a good two minutes before they were coherent enough to grab their gear up and leave.

“Ah,” Zack said, as the last of it left him. “Good times.”  
  
“Yeah,” Cloud said, smiling softly. “Good times.”  
  
Zack gave a firm nod, and then, because he was apparently unable to get up like a normal person, did so via a kickup.

Cloud snorted at this, but the motion—legs crunched in preparation for the flip; powerful, bare arms moving up to place hands next to ears—flexing—pushing off; body sinuously curving first one way, then the reverse—his whole body bent for the briefest of moments as his feet landed under his ass _just_ long enough to prove _exactly_ how flexible he was before he was propelled upright...

He was glad Zack didn’t see his reaction to the sight, because he caught himself licking his lips. Damn it, he had _just_ Fed. Keep it in your pants, Strife!   

Zack of course was oblivious to his momentary arousal, proceeding to — 

“Do you really have to do squats _now_?” Cloud groaned. Luckily, it came out as a complaint that could be interpreted as ‘stop wasting time’ and not ‘stop moving those muscles in front of me, you sexy jerk, hard-ons are uncomfortable when you’re not planning to do anything with them’.

“Heh, ready to get back to patrolling?” Zack said, grinning down at him, hands on hips.

“Not really,” Cloud said dryly. “But I am ready as hell to get back to the inn, and we can’t do _that_ , until we finish.”

Zack just laughed in response, and extended a hand to help him up.

“You and me both Spiky,” he said. “You and me both.”


End file.
